FIRST ON FOX: A former senior Homeland Security official and FBI agent is calling for a bipartisan commission to be formed to investigate the assassination attempt on former President Trump, arguing the public has lost trust in the federal agencies.
Mark Morgan most recently served as acting head of Customs and Border Protection under the Trump administration and also had a 20-year career with the FBI, including as a former SWAT operator and tactical instructor, and with the FBI’s critical incident response group.
He spoke to Fox News Digital Tuesday about the ongoing reviews of Saturday’s assassination attempt.
“Here’s the reality that we have to face for those of us who were past and even those that are currently involved in these agencies. … America’s trust in the Department of Justice, the FBI, Congress, it has dropped precipitously the past few years. That’s just the reality,” Morgan said.
Former President Trump, a Republican presidential candidate, pumps his fist as he is rushed into a car at a rally July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The assassination attempt has drawn bipartisan scrutiny from Congress over how the gunman was allowed to get so close to Trump and get multiple shots off at the former president. The heads of the House Oversight and Homeland Security committees have demanded briefings from agency heads. In the Senate, both Homeland Security Committee Chairman Gary Peters and ranking member Rand Paul announced they will investigate the matter. President Biden has directed an independent review of the incident, and the FBI is investigating.
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“So, the challenge is that although we have these investigations that are going to go on, I just don’t think the public trusts these agencies to really come forth with a comprehensive review and then a series of meaningful recommendations with respect to how we need to improve. And I also don’t think America trusts that they’re going to come forward with meaningful accountability for those that were involved in what is clearly a colossal security failure,” Morgan said.
The head of the Secret Service this week called the shooting “unacceptable,” while DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas called it a “failure” of the agency. But Morgan says if he were one of the agency heads, he would have already resigned.
Acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan talks to reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House Oct. 8, 2019, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“In my opinion, if I was a Secret Service director, I would have already tendered my resignation and handed it to the president. But, just like the secretary of DHS, their ego won’t let them do the right thing,” Morgan said.
Morgan said he would like to see Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who previously chaired the Senate Homeland Security Committee, lead the commission.
“He’s got the experience. He led the House Homeland Security committee on the Senate side. He knows DHS, how they operate, knows how the Secret Service operates. And I also think he’s got credibility on both sides of the aisle,” Morgan said.
He also said there would need to be experts from multiple administrations as part of the commission.
“But let’s do a true bipartisan commission and look at it from A to Z because, right now, we’re going to have congressional committees doing their thing. We’re going to have the DHS IG and Secret Service doing their thing. We’re going to have the FBI doing their investigation in the shooting,” Morgan said.
“So, we’re going to have all these different stovepipe things that are happening, really independent of each other. And that’s why I see the commission would bring all those in together.
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“So, I’m not saying you stop any one of those things. What I say, though, is the commission would act as the umbrella to bring all those things together and to produce a single full and complete comprehensive report regarding just all the circumstances around it,” he said.
He also said the commission could look at the Secret Service as a whole, including methodology.
“This is a clear indication and justification that needs to happen. And so I don’t think you’re going to get that with these individual entities doing their thing. But the most important thing is, I don’t think the American people are going to have confidence in any of those entities regardless of what they report.”